Green Tree Investment, a subsidiary IDC, opened the doors to its newly constructed luxurious apartments for viewing on Saturday.
Constructed by Green Island Construction as part of the Perseverance Point Condominiums project, the apartment bloc consists of 19 units which are available for purchase on the open market.
Located adjacent to the condominiums recently built for graduates and young professionals, the modern ocean front residences are being sold on a free-hold, first come first served basis.
The bloc’s one one-bedroom studio is going for R1.8 million, its two one-bedroom units are priced from R3.6 million to R3.8 million and its four two-bedroom units are priced from R4 million to R4.3 million.
The prices for the remaining 12 three-bedroom units are set between R5.1 million to R5.5 million.
All units include built-in wardrobes, bathroom vanities, kitchen cabinets and have some appliances already installed but buyers will have the option to purchase the luxury units fully furnished, at an additional cost.
Unlike the condominiums available to graduates and professionals who must be first-time home buyers, the luxury apartments are targeted towards anyone who can afford them, Seychellois and non-Seychellois.
The luxury apartments were conceptualised and constructed to subsidise the condominiums for graduates and professional first-time home buyers.
These condominiums are being provided at much lower costs compared to the luxury apartments, with a two-bedroom unit priced at R1.2 million and a three-bedroom unit at R1.5 million, which is not the real costs of these apartments.

​​Bel Eau primary school has received a new block that has been constructed and sponsored by the Green Island Construction Company.
The new block, which consists of a conference room, a resource room and two sets of staff toilets, has cost R1.5 million and was inaugurated by the Minister for Education and Human Resource Development, Mrs. Jeanne Simeon and the chairman of the Islands Development Company (IDC) board, Mr. Patrick Berlouis.
The Director General in the education department, Mr. Cyril Pillay, noted that this project is definitely a very important step in the public-private partnership.
“In 2017, Green Island Construction Company (GICC) built a new block of classrooms at English River secondary school with similar arrangements. It is very heartening to note that GICC has taken heed of our call once again and shows that education is a shared responsibility.” said Mr Pillay.

In an effort to encourage more Seychellois to visit and enjoy the outer islands, and following a board decision, IDC has reduced airfares to all outer islands with guest accommodation, regardless of their distance from Mahé, to a flat rate of R3,000 with immediate effect.
In a press conference, the Chief Executive Officer of IDC, Mr. Glenny Savy gave details of the facilities on the different islands with a guesthouse to accommodate Seychellois residents.
Before the reduction, Seychellois visiting Farquhar paid an airfare of R7,500 and R10,000 for Astove.
Mr. Savy explained that Seychellois can immediately visit islands like Silhouette, Desroches, Farquhar, Remire, Platte, Astove except for Alphonse where he noted a new guesthouse is being built and it will be ready by December.
​​He also gave details of access either by plane or boat, payment process and other important logistic details.
For Silhouette, which is closest to Mahé, the return boat fare is R200 while accommodation is R100 per day and R500 is charged per day for a three-course meal and the latter also applies for meals on all the outer islands.
For the other outer islands mentioned, the return airfare is now R3000, while accommodation cost is R250 per day. 
Mr. Savy also announced that the IDC will in the coming days submit documents to the Planning Authority for a project to build six additional chalets which will double the capacity of Silhouette guesthouse.
“Emphasis on Silhouette is because many people love it as it is close to Mahé, more flexible and easy to access,” Mr. Savy said.
He added that the new facilities on Silhouette which will be more comfortable and will offer more privacy are expected to be completed and ready by June next year or before.
Mr. Savy noted that the number of available rooms on these islands do not necessarily mean the same number of seats on flights for transfers to and from these islands. He stressed that the availability of seats will depend on the number not taken by hotels on these islands.
Meanwhile, Mr. Savy explained that the reduction in return fares has been possible because the IDC is absorbing the cost.
Alongside the reduction in fares for residents, Mr. Savy also announced that IDC will also put in place a programme for senior citizens to visit Silhouette.
An environment programme for school children in collaboration with Island Conservation Society (ICS) and the Ministry of Education is also being finalised and is expected to start by the end of the year or early next year.

Family members and friends joined officials of the Islands Development Company in a memorial mass at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception to remember the four crew members who disappeared in a tragedy at sea, a little more than a year ago.
It was in the early hours of 26th August last year that the cargo vessel Sea Horse, which was carrying a consignment of fuel and food to Coetivy, caught fire and sank not far from the island.
The search for the missing crew – Darren Morel, Nigel Franchette, Norcy Serret and Ranjit Premathilaka a Sri Lankan national – has until today been in vain.
During the mass organised by the IDC, family members tearfully shared their pain and sorrow of their painful loss.
In an interview to the press after the service, IDC’s Chief Executive Officer, Glenny Savy announced that the company would continue to support the children, especially in their education.
He also added that the IDC has appointed a lawyer to help the families to obtain a death certificate for their loved ones as well as support them through the legal process which would ensue to obtain compensation.

Employees had their eyes examined to detect vision problems and eye disorders during a free eye screening camp organised by the Rising Lions Club Seychelles at the company’s head office at the New Port.
The eye screening, organised with the support of opticians from Optic Seychelles, started at 9am and extended through the early hours of the afternoon.  Over 50 employees had their eyes examined, in the brief exam aimed at detecting vision problems and eye disorders.
Chief executive of IDC, Glenny Savy made an appearance during the camp and thanked the Rising Lions for the initiative as well as the senior Lions from sister clubs who also brought their support for the camp.
Govin Pillay, a member of the Rising Lions Club, said that the welfare officer from IDC requested such a camp and Optic Seychelles collaborated with the club to realise it.
“Eye care is important and we find that from our previous eye screening camps, quite a lot of people have undetected vision problems. Eye screening should be part of everyone’s regular health routine but most people tend to overlook the importance of screenings until they start to encounter problems and symptoms,” he said.
Of the employees screened, a number were found to have some sort of vision or eye problem and have been referred to relevant health facilities.

IDC is neither cropping, nor selling bird eggs this season.
IDC has learned that some cartons of bird eggs with its logo there-on are currently in use and that a carton of bird eggs is being sold for up to SR1500. IDC would like to state that these are most probably boxes from last year that are being re-used by some other persons or agencies. IDC would like to reiterate that it is not selling bird eggs this year.
As a policy, IDC only crops bird eggs from Desnoeufs island once every two years. As bird eggs were collected last year, this year there will be no bird eggs from IDC.

President Danny Faure visited Providence, where he saw the newly completed airstrip on the island.
The airstrip measures 1300 metres in length by 23 metres wide and is crucial to future development of the island. Work on the airstrip started on 10th December 2018 and was completed on 20th March 2019. Government contributed SR 5 million toward the total cost of the project, which was SR 19.5 million.
The CEO of IDC, Mr. Glenny Savy and the Deputy CEO, Mrs. Veronique Herminie accompanied the President on the visit. The Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Col. Michael Rosette, Principal Secretary for Finance, Mr. Damien Thesee and the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ted Barbe also formed part of the delegation.
While on the island, President Faure toured the developments, including renovated facilities that have been made cyclone proof. IDC is in the process of developing infrastructure on Providence, having earmarked a 10 room guesthouse for tourism, and 2 bungalows specifically for Seychellois, so as to encourage local tourism.
The new facilities is expected to be operational in March 2020.
This is the last runway to be built on the outer islands. The other 10 runways are on Alphonse, Assomption, Astove, Coetïvy, Desroches, Farquhar, Marie-Louise, Platte, Poivre, and Remire.

After the collection of 10.627 tons of marine debris on the beaches of 8 outer islands, Alphonse, Astove, Coetivy, Desroches, Farquhar, Platte, Poivre and Remire, the 36 volunteers who took part in the first ever large scale beach clean-up on the outer islands were awarded and recognized for a job well done.
The clean-up team consisted of IDC staff, members of The Ocean Project Seychelles, medical staff from the Ministry of Health and volunteers who did not make the shortlist for the Aldabra clean-up as well as several partners; Island Conservation Society, Alphonse Hotel, Desroches Hotel and the Prison Services which allowed a group of inmates on Coetivy to join in the clean-up.
As a sign of appreciation, they received trophies and letters of appreciation from President Danny Faure, Vice President Vincent Meriton and IDC CEO, Mr. Glenny Savy in a ceremony at the Savoy Resort & Spa.
The Ocean Project Seychelles which was in charge of data collection for the clean-up made a presentation on the quantity and composition debris collected – 18,028 flip flops, 1,962 lighters, 2 tons of ropes and nets, 18,224 plastic bottles, 2,594 glass bottles, 967 buoys, 703 lightbulbs and tubes, 34 FADs and 452 kg of foamed plastic.  
In his address, Mr. Savy thanked all the volunteers for the success of the activity. He called on everyone to help bring awareness on the impact of marine debris on the outer islands.
“There is an urgent need to inform the world of our dilemma, of the consequences of of inadequate waste management, of the need for more restraint when throwing away trash in the storm run-offs or leaving it on the beach after a picnic, of managing fishing operations in a more conscious and sustainable manner, and of the result of dumping all that we no longer have any need for along our coastlines.”
All the rubbish collected are being brought back to Mahe and a good amount will be recycled and re-used as a tool to create more awareness on the effects of rubbish in the ocean.
The Outer Islands Clean-Up exercise was held between 18th and 31st March as a follow-up to the Aldabra clean-up project.